Saying “No” to Donor Demands Should Be a Core Competency

For many wealthy donors, a charitable donation is more than a voluntary act of generosity. Often, it’s an investment, with the intent of gaining power and influence or advancing a political agenda. Public and private universities and colleges, faced with shrinking public funding, find it difficult to say no to gifts, even those which threaten their integrity, independence, and the academic freedom of faculty and students.

Lest we see Koch as a special villain, he may simply be stating honestly the position and expectation of many high-dollar donors. In the face of great wealth and clear intent, NPQ has observed that university leaders face the challenge to “reconcile their responsibility to be publicly accountable with the demands of the philanthropic marketplace where they need to succeed.” According to a report issued by UnKoch My Campus, donors seek to influence areas traditionally the sole purview of boards and leadership staff, including “hiring, scholarly activities…the creation of curriculum and academic programs…and student activities, from student groups to graduate fellowships.”

Janine Gaspari, a student activist at George Mason University, a campus which has received considerable Koch funding, described this threat to Truthout: “When corporate donors buy influence, professorships and research outcomes, big money interests threaten the university’s academic independence, integrity and commitment to the public good. As a public body, the university must conduct its business in a transparent manner.”

From the perspective of University of Arizona history professor Douglas Weiner, “What is going on is a large, deep effort to not just lobby politicians, but to lobby public opinion. They’re using academia to play upon the image of the academy as an unbiased place of inquiry.”

To help individual organizations facing these pressures, organizations are springing up on individual campuses and as broader networks. In an interview with Truthout, Samantha Parsons, director of campaigns for UnKoch My Campus, said there is a need “to ensure that donor agreements respect faculty governance and academic freedom…to improve university policies around accepting donations and the creation of university centers that are sponsored by private donations.”

This is a long game…a lot of campuses are reviewing their gift acceptance policies. Universities have the power to be proactive in how transparent they are, and who they allow to have a say in the decision-making process when a donor reaches out to them.

After an unsuccessful campaign to stop a $50 million donation from conservative philanthropists Dr. Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield, St. Louis University faculty are now planning to launch an Academic Capture Warning System website, which will provide “a repository of information about all the sites where undue donor influence appears to be happening…making this information widely available.” Their belief is that visibility will empower organizations to resist improper demands on the part of donors and encourage donors to become more responsible.

All nonprofits find some difficulty in saying no to offers of large, ongoing financial support. The allure of wealth is powerful and, particularly when times are tough, strong enough to tempt nonprofit organizations to muddy their missions and make principled decision-making difficult. Transparency is the key first step, making sure that improper strings are not tied to donor gifts. As NPQ noted in its coverage of a donor controversy at George Mason last spring, “Anonymity and secrecy may make fundraising easier, but they don’t build trust. The agendas of donors and the conditions they insist upon need to stand the test of public oversight or they risk eroding the foundations of public education. If school administrations and their boards do not make this their practice, it may need legislative action in their state houses to ensure it. That will be a battle, but one worth fighting.” True of colleges and universities, and true for the entire nonprofit sector.—Martin Levine

Martin Levine is a Principal at Levine Partners LLP, a consulting group focusing on organizational change and improvement, realigning service system to allow them to be more responsive and effective.
Prior to forming Levine Partners, Mr. Levine served the CEO of JCC Chicago creating a purpose driven organization, continuously realigning service and management systems to responsively and effectively fulfill JCC Chicago’s mission.
Over the past 35 years Mr. Levine made major contributions to the transformation of JCC Chicago to its present position as a pre-eminent JCC in North America. Mr. Levine focused on strengthening the JCC’s effectiveness as a Jewish Community Building and Jewish Educational organization dedicated to “Bringing Jewish Values to Life” in all aspects of JCC programs and services.
Mr. Levine was been responsible for the development of new facilities as part of JCC Chicago’s response to the changing demography of the Metropolitan Jewish Community. In addition, Mr. Levine had responsibility for guiding the Chicago JCC’s integration of its service and business strategies into a holistic approach.
In addition to his JCC responsibilities, Mr. Levine served as a consultant on organizational change and improvement to school districts and community organizations.
Mr. Levine has published several articles on change and has presented at numerous conferences on this subject.
Mr. Levine held membership in many professional organizations including the Association of Jewish Center Professionals (Board member), Association for the Advancement of Social Work with Groups, Association for Quality and Participation, and the Future Search Alliance.
A native of New York City, Mr. Levine is a graduate of City College of New York (BS in Biology) and Columbia University (MSW). He has trained with the Future Search and the Deming Institute.
Mr. Levine served as President of the Gan Project, an organization committed to engaging communities in locally and ethically produced food.